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Fundamentals: We are the champions!
If you’re thinking about nominating one person to champion your change project then you may need to think again. According to Tom Lawrence, Bruno Dyck, Sally Maitlis and Michael Mauws* championing change in an organization requires four distinct roles, each with very distinct skills and resources!
They argue that conventional models of change fail to address the complexity of the environment in which most organizations operate. Change projects are rarely neatly packaged and are often open-ended and fluid. Continuous change is not chaos, however: it is a cyclical process with four stages through which ideas are translated into actions and routines, and ultimately into a part of the organizational culture. The successful negotiation of each phase requires specific resources and a certain type of champion.
Evangelists are those champions who can persuade and influence organizational members to change. Active in the first phase of change, they draw on informal networks using politicking and story-telling skills to mobilize and inspire commitment.
The baton then needs to be picked up by Autocrats, champions, who use their authority to support the implementation of the idea. Their credibility within the organization reduces uncertainty associated with change and overcomes potential resistance.
With the idea of change accepted by individuals there is a need to integrate the new ways of working into existing organizational systems and structures. Architects are the champions who use their techical expertise to build new ideas into routines which over time become taken-for-granted.
And finally, Educators are those champions who encourage future innovation by setting the stage for the birth of new ideas in order for the cycle to be repeated.
The message is clear - for change to be both formulated and effectively implemented, all four kinds of champion must be present. Organizations most likely to successfully manage continuous change will invest in evangelists, autocrats, architects and educators - a team of champions.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll examine the four roles in greater depth - how you can work successfully as each, and how you can foster the emergence of such champions in your organization.
* For a fuller account read: The Underlying Structure of Continuous Change published in the MIT Sloan Management Review (Summer 2006, Vol. 47, 4)
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Tom Lawrence, our editor, is the Weyerhaeuser Professor of Change Management at SFU.Read Tom's Posts
Graham Dover is a Doctoral student in the Business Faculty at SFU. Read Graham's Posts